SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL 11 DEC. 2021.

Firstly Beach Buoy wants to apologise for the photograph quality.

He has recently changed mobile phones.

He has had a few Motorola G models.

He has just changed from a G8 to 9.

 Sadly the camera on the new model is poor compared to earlier models. 

They look ok on social media but when enlarged for the blog they appear blurred.

Sorry.

Beach Buoy is very very disappointed.

Thank you.

____________________________________

Beach Buoy went to bed early.

10-30 p.m.

He listened to BBC Radio Cornwall for half an hour or so.

Then he was out like a light.

3-47 a.m.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Another Dog had decided to bring her bone to the top of the stairs. 

Chomp.

Chomp.

Chomp. 

4-15 a.m. 

Another Dog jumps on the bed.

"Hiya, I'm wide awake and everything." ... she seemed to say.

By 5 a.m.  the kettle was on.

"OK Google play Radio Cornwall."

Jack Murley was on.

Beach Buoy made a coffee and paced about the kitchen as he waited for daylight.

Beach Buoy messaged the show.

Jack told the world that Beach Buoy was waiting for daylight to come, so that he could go to the beach.

Beach Buoy made a Thermal mug of coffee.

Beach Buoy went to the beach.

The roads were frosted, thankfully the frosted van windscreen had turned to moisture when it was time to go.

They reached the beach car park at 6-58 a.m.

It was still dark.

A dome of hope appeared to the south, to the north it was still as night.

Bay Buoys twinkled in the Bay.

Beach Buoy wrinkled in the van.

He could wait no longer.

He and Another Dog headed down the beach access ramp.

He had fitted a torch to his beach bag.

The Dome of light to the south of the Bay, began to glow Orange.

They headed towards a dark water's edge.

They headed south, a beach bag strapped torch lit the way.

A Spaniel appeared from the darkness.

It was friendly but very interested in Another Dog; she was a pup no more.

"Sorry Mate."

came a voice from the strand-line. 

The voice approached.

"Paul?"

"Is that you."

Beach Buoy answered 

"Yes."

The voice was that of a former workmate of Beach Buoy's.

The workmate's Dad had died earlier in the year.

He had been Beach Buoy's foreman back in the day...

"Sorry to hear about your  Dad."

They swapped dead  Dad stories in the Dark, their feet torchlit.

"He was a good man." 

said Beach Buoy as the chat meandered to a natural end.

Beach Buoy and Another Dog continued South.

They took aim at the 

Stubborn Dog Stack.

Beach Buoy gathered three large beach stones to add to the stack.

He had collected slightly earlier than planned.

The three rocks were fast becoming blocks of ice.

"Morning Mate"

It was 7-40 a.m.

He patted 

THE 

stone.

He looked at the sea.

The tide was more in than it was out.

The Border Collie Beach-combing couple had been heading south.

They seemed to turn at the stack and return to the north.

"See you mate."

they headed back down to the beach.

Any beach untouched by sea was still frosted.

Burnt driftwood with a covering of frost.

They headed to North Gare Pier.

They approached The Blue Lagoon.

"So let's get this right

You have brought Coffee and Chocolate but not a single Dog biscuit?

None?

Zilch?

Nowt?.........

  

 

    




  

The Lagoon felt more exposed today.

A cold breeze blew across the river and beach from the south west.

They waited for that moment of sunrise.

It was stolen by low cloud today at the last minute.

They headed back to the Bay.

A Bay edged with grey now the Sun had decided to hide.

The sea rumbled to the east.

Industry rumbled to the west.

A pile driver piled piles, sounding like a mechanical woodpecker, pecking on cold hard steel.

Beach Buoy collected some beach  trash; Taprogge Balls.

Colours cooled as did the beach.

They headed for the van.

Luckily there was a stash of dog biscuit in the van.

Friends once more.

Beach Buoy washed the van.

 

Beach Buoy went to a football match.

BEACH BUOY.

A SHERD STORY.... A POTTERY SHERD. 09 DEC. 2021.

Sometimes it it can be an aroma that takes you back to a particular time and place.

Beach  Buoy picked up a piece of sea pottery.

It was this that took him back to another time, another place.

It took him back to a day in his childhood.

Stood in his "Nana's" narrow kitchen in her council flat.

A council flat that was two steps away from the one that he had been born in.

The time he returned to... Beach Buoy was stood in her kitchen.

It had been a cold day.

"Nana" must have been minding him and possibly his brother that day?

She had made soup for tea.

He remembers being sat down with a bowl of soup.

A Blue and White hooped bowl.

He can even remember wishing the dumplings in the soup were crunchy; they weren't.

Left to Right.

Nana.

Beach Buoy in a Bonnet.

Beach Buoy's Brother.

Photograph taken just outside their flats, opposite Rossmere Park.

Nana was the only blood grand parent that Beach Buoy ever met.

She had three husbands.

The last was the young man below on the left.

Christian Englebrecht, with his Dad and Sister.

Beach Buoy called him Uncle Chris.

The young man had gone.

Uncle Chris rode a butchers bike.

He wore a flat cap.

His hearing was poor due to  the sound of World War One Gunfire,

BEACH BUOY.

 

09 DEC 2021. A THURSDAY OFF. SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL.

It was a day off.

Beach Buoy woke before 6 a.m.

He laid in bed until 7 a.m. , the time that the works buzzer would be sounding out.

He went downstairs and flicked on the electric kettle.

He looked out of the long narrow side window that gave a view of the sky over the Bay.

He was expecting a blackboard.

He was wrong.

The sky looked much lighter than it had any right to be this time of year, this time of day.

There was a line of Blue above a line of Orange.

The light lifted the spirits.

Beach Buoy gulped a couple of mouthfuls of hot coffee, scraped frost from the van windscreen.

Beach Buoy and Another Dog headed for the beach.

They reached the car park at 7-25 a.m.

They headed down towards the water's edge, before heading south.

Two people with three dogs were up ahead to the south.

Waves waved.

The tide was well in.

The tide seemed have peaked around an hour earlier.

Five crows stood around near the strand line.

They had come for the fancy dress party.

They all came dressed as midnight.

Gulls at the water's edge all came as snowmen.

They headed up to the stack, stones in hand.

"Morning Mate."

Beach Buoy was glad of the week day visit.

He placed the beach stones on the beach and patted

THE 

stone.

It was 8 a.m.

They stood waiting for the sun to show up.

It was chilly but bright.

A large but distant flock of birds rose into the sky as if coming from the sun.

They headed west in a large V formation.

Then they turned to the East as they formed an arc before disappearing completely.

The Bay.

It was 8-28 a.m. when the sun peeked over the hills.

"See you mate."

They headed back.

They headed back to the north.

"The Sun is blinding!" said a woman heading south.

"Glorious isn't it?"

 answered Beach Buoy.

They went  back to the van.

A beach find.

  Beach Buoy will blog about this later

BEACH BUOY.

NORTH ROAD , SEATON CAREW 06 12 21 ... GMT 8.

 

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON CAREW, HARTLEPOOL. 05 DEC. 2021.

It had been a rubbish sleep.

Beach Buoy laid awake at 4-30 a.m. listening to the wind blow and the rain lash against the bedroom window.

Sounds that would normally have Beach Buoy nodding off no problem.

5-30 a.m.

A long hot soak in the bath.

7-04 a.m.

The wind and rain were still running the show as Beach Buoy called into a local shop.

He, Borrowed Dog and Another Dog headed for the sea front.

They could sit and watch the weather .

Rain came and went and came again.

The wind rocked the van from side to side.

Beach Buoy drank coffee.

They were parked down near Newburn Bridge.

The rain stopped for a short while.

Beach Buoy stepped onto the promenade to take some photographs.

A Lone Gull tested the wind's speed to see if was safe for flying in?

The other Gulls just walked around as they waited for the verdict.

Gull Airlines...... All flights cancelled until further notice.

Beach Buoy drove the van to their usual beach.

He readied the Dogs and himself.

They set off.

The wind and the rain had eased.

Sea water was trapped way up the beach, near to the Promenade Wall.

The sea must have been rough?

The tide must have been high?

The light to the south was amazing.

Beach Buoy was half expecting a soaking.

Almost in an instant,

The wind picked up.

Shifting Sands shifted.

Rain rained down.

The half expected soaking complete .....

They rushed back to the van.

They arrived soaked.

That was it.

The dogs were taken to base camp for a bath.

They were wet and sandy.

END

OF

WALK

1.

It was 11-40 a.m.

Beach Buoy returned to the beach alone.

Saying that, he had waterproofs, binoculars , thermal mug of hot coffee, chocolate and three hoods up.

He needed a space.

He needed air.

He needed light, even a grey light would do.

He walked as if in slow motion, trying to savour everything about the beach, the day and himself.

A man with two dash-hounds, dashed back to the north.

Beach Buoy headed up towards 

Stubborn Dog Stack.

"Afternoon Mate."

It was 12-12 p.m.

He patted 

THE

stone.

He added more to the stack.

Some lovely painted stones had been left at the stack.

Merry Christmas.

Beach Buoy stayed with his old mate a while.

He misses him.

"See you mate."

Beach Buoy headed for North Gare Beach.

He wandered around near the river.

He sat and drank his coffee as he watched the sea rush back into the river, in large semi circles of waves

He headed back to the Bay.

There was no rush.

He found this....

Industrial or Jewellery?

He headed back to the van.

 

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS , HARTLEPOOL. 04 DEC. 2021.

Beach Buoy had gone to bed at 12-40 a.m.

At 4-30 a.m. Another Dog ran upstairs and decided to let Beach Buoy know it was time to be up.

4-50 a.m Beach Buoy was downstairs.

A Lone Gull cried or laughed overhead.

Like people, it can be a fine line between the two.

Kettle on.

Teacake in toaster.

Apart from the dark early nights, another downside of this time of the year is the wait for daylight / sunrise; it was three hours away.

Borrowed Dog was in the building for the weekend, he wasn't familiar with these early starts.

The dog curled up like a cat on one end of a sofa and slept.

Now that Stubborn Dog had gone, Borrowed Dog was becoming the elder statesman.

Time Flies....

Beach Buoy recalled when Borrowed Dog was a pup, wanting a carry in Beach Buoy's beach bag on beach walks with 

Stubborn Dog; The Three Amigos.

Although Stubborn Dog was usually a couple of metres behind.

It was 5-30 a.m.

Another Dog mirrored Borrowed Dog on an opposite end of the sofa; Bookends.

Beach Buoy sat on another sofa, arms folded waiting for time to tick and tock.

He tried to nod.

He leaned against the end of the sofa.

He didn't curl up like a cat.

It was more of a slump, looking like a pile of washing that had been stacked, coloured co-ordinated ready for the washing machine.

6-25 a.m. time to sharpen the beach book pencil.

Beach Buoy was pleased that the pencil was decreasing in size.

He had a large amount of pens and pencils.

It was a good feeling to know that they were being put to use.

The kettle was boiled and thermal mugs filled with coffee.

7-20 a.m. 

Beach Buoy, Borrowed Dog and Another Dog headed towards the beach access ramp as a head-lit walker headed off into the dunes.

A head-lit  jogger trotted by, along the promenade.

They reached the beach.

The tide was around an hour until low tide.

The strand line was very high, pushed up towards the promenade by a previous angry sea.

A Murder of Crows plotted their next attack down near the water's edge.

A Large Dog came bounding over, followed at speed by a lady.

"Sorry."

(Beach Buoy was in a two dog lead tangle.)

"It's O.K."

"He just wants to say hello to every Dog that he sees."

They went their separate ways after Beach Buoy untangled himself.

A Little Dog came bounding over, followed by a lady.

"Sorry."

"There's no need to be."

After a friendly dog stand off, they went their separate ways after Beach Buoy untangled himself once more.

Two joggers headed south.

They chatted as they jogged, albeit little out of breath.

Beach Buoy wandered down to the shingle patches.

He was rewarded with a sea alley.

Lovely sky blue.

The two vocal joggers returned to the north,

their voices passerby before they did.

There was a slight breeze.

The air was so cold.

Beach Buoy's hands almost prayed that he hadn't forgot to bring his gloves.

He stuffed moaning hands deep into the pockets of his old but but still bright orange coat.

They didn't stay in pockets long.

Beach Buoy had beach stones to collected for 

Stubborn Dog Stack.

They headed in that direction.

"Morning Mate."

Beach Buoy patted 

THE

stone.

He added seven stones to his mate's Stack.

Beach Buoy drank from one of his thermal mugs; Coffee.

It was 8-06 a.m.

Beach Buoy looked out to sea.

Beach Fisherman fished down near The Sea Serpent Marker.

"See you Mate."

They headed back to the beach.

They continued the walk in a southerly direction.

Sand Martin Corner down by the North Gare Pier would be well worth a search today, what with all the shingle around.

Beach Buoy found a lovely patterned pottery handle.

As he searched Sand Martin Corner, Two Glorious Swans flew overhead, heading in a north westerly direction, over the dunes.

They were too quick to allow Beach Buoy to photograph them.

The sun came out, almost unnoticed by Beach Buoy as he had been busy shingle searching  in the shadow of the North Gare Pier.

Sea coal twists.

Beach Buoy found a Large Whelk.

It still looked occupied. 

Beach Buoy returned it to the sea.

The Three Rods.

The patterns in the sand were wonderful.

Nature is class.

They headed  back to the van.

They headed back to coffee.

Back at base camp the Postman had been.

First was beach related book.

£3-62.

An old book, but excellent and in excellent condition too.

He had also added two new clips for the van's bike rack.

They old red ones were worn and had become slack.

The grey ones were a slightly different design .

They fitted fine, giving a reassuring click as they did so.

 Today's sea alley was added to the collection on the bathroom window sill.

Beach Buoy.

GMT 7 Thursday 02 12 21.

 Beach Buoy.

GMT 6. 30 NOV.2021

The Seaton Carew Lighthouse was located around where the four bollards are.

It was known as the low light.

 

BEACH BUOY.